A Tragedy From the Human Perspective
by Lynseyax Heparedads
Summary: "All I'm sayin' is, are you even on your own side anymore? Do you really think they're worth savin? After everything you've seen this year, all the crap you had to put up with, don't you think it's time to throw in the towel?" Crowley and Cas have a chat.
1. Tragedy

He stares at the body, broken and bloody, discarded in the middle of the street like some forgotten thing. His head tilts as he surveys the surrounding area; the man who committed the deed was long gone and no one else seemed to have noticed, or if they had, well, they weren't doing anything about it. She wasn't dead, not yet at least, gurgling and gasping for air through her shattered ribs and punctured lungs, and yet no one but him seemed to hear her. It was deafening! The sound of each choked breath reverberated in his ears, the steady rhythm of her fluttering heart pounding inside of his skull, the sounds of whispered pleas dying on her bloody lips- it was maddening! Why was no one helping this poor girl?

"Disgusting, isn't it?"

He sighs heavily, not needing to turn his gaze to know exactly who it was that had intruded upon his solitude.

"Not now Crowley." Castiel is in no mood for this and his voice is clear evidence of that fact; he will not tolerate Crowley's cruel imitation of friendship tonight, not after what happened. Not after what was still happening. Couldn't the demon just let him sulk in peace?

"Kitty pee in your cornflakes Cassie?" He teased, refusing to take the hint from his gruff companion and instead moving closer to stand at his side, eyes fixated on the dying girl sprawled in the middle of the wet asphalt- it was beautiful. "Ah no, I get it. Dean finally dumped your sorry ass eh?" The sudden tension in the air was palpable, and Crowley, ever supportive of self-preservation over being snide, put a few steps between them, though he passed it off as trying to get a closer look at the girl. "I never took you for the morbid sort Cas, maybe I'm finally rubbing off on you." He chuckled, turning back to face the silent angel, still looking at the girl with a determined fixation.

"This has nothing to do with you. Leave." Cas' resolve was fading just as quickly as the girl's life; he had pushed away the only people in the world to have truly cared about him and now he was alone. Even Crowley was a welcome distraction at this point, anything to keep his mind from wandering back to that conversation with Dean… '_He trusted me…'_

"Don't you see? This is what you're tryin' so hard to save. This!" The demon gestured at the dying girl with blatant disgust, though it was clearly not directed at the grisly scene, and instead the situation in general. "The same people who'd leave a girl alone to rot in the middle of the street. You're tryin' to save them! For what?"

This was strange coming from Crowley; the two had made an agreement after all- what was his angle, as Dean would put it. '_Would have put it.'_

"I didn't know that you worked for Raphael." He shot Crowley a steeled glare, features hardened into a mask of indifference; it was a look he had practiced well over the years.

"Funny. You a comedian now? Don't think you're gonna find it so funny when the Winchester's are moppin' the floor with your-"

"Do you have a point Crowley?" Castiel cut him off with a growl, warring with himself as to how desperate he was for companionship that he was tolerating Crowley. Would he be condemned or redeemed for ridding the Earth of the snarky demon? "Because I suggest you make it before you try my patience further."

"Ohh, I love it when you get all wrathy- okay okay!" He held up his hands in supplication at the glare Castiel sent his way, fiddling with his jacket before he spoke again. "All I'm sayin' is, are you even on your own side anymore? Do you really think they're worth savin'? After everything you've seen this year, all the shit you had to put up with, don't you think it's time to throw in the towel?"

Now Castiel was suspicious. Crowley would gain nothing if Castiel sided with Raphael, in fact, he'd lose everything. Their agreement was vital to him achieving Purgatory and Crowley had proven that that mattered more than anything else. Still, his questions had sparked up an interesting string of thoughts in his mind; what was he doing? Why was he fighting so hard to save something that was trying so hard to destroy itself? The girl moaned in response to his thoughts, writhing on the ground and meeting his gaze with tear-filled eyes… No, that was not possible. He was invisible to the human eye! It had to be coincidence…but her gaze did not waver, and nor did his own, and they stared at one another for a solid minute before Cas could no longer bear it.

He crossed the street to kneel at her side, the knees of his pants instantly soaked through to the skin as his hand brushed her bruised face with uncharacteristic tenderness. Finally he understood… _'Father or no father…'_

"I will keep fighting, because I have faith…" His voice was soft as the girl's body began to repair before his eyes, broken bones mended, bruises faded, lacerations knitting closed in an instant. "Faith that the world will become a better place, faith that humanity will one day redeem itself, faith that Sam and Dean will continue to do the right thing, faith that I-" _'Will have the strength to do the same.' _"That I am not alone in this." A reassuring hand settled onto his shoulder, squeezing it gently; strange, he hadn't heard Crowley get that close to him. He looked up into the face of the demon, tilting his head as Crowley's features flickered like the image on a poor television screen; he could have sworn that Crowley had just looked like- no, it was impossible. The demon vanished with a smile, leaving Castiel with wet knees and feeling no better than he had minutes before. Beside him the girl stirred, opening her eyes and looking up at him with a curious expression.

She got to her feet slowly and it was his turn to look confused as she placed a hand on his shoulders to hold him in place, leaning close and pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. His eyes closed almost reflexively at the gesture, feeling strangely at peace for the first time in a long while; it was… unsettling. She spoke then, and he opened his eyes immediately to find nothing but the empty air and her words echoing in his mind.

"You're not."


	2. Faith

"_Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy."_

_-F. Scott Fitzgerald_

* * *

><p>Vicki Ashworth stood under the glow of a streetlamp, body illuminated in the yellow light. She resembled a murder victim, clothes tattered and stained with blood, but Vicki was not dead. By all rights she certainly should have been- she knew it, her savior knew it, and yet there she stood. Her hero was an angel, one she knew as well as she knew herself, but he was as of yet still unaware.<p>

Overhead, the light flickered…

"You look ridiculous…" She mused aloud, lips curling as she turned to face her companion. "Honestly, it's impossible to take you seriously in that get up." Crowley chuckled, having learned to never take offense at the things his little lady said.

"Well not all of us can look as ravishing as you love." He crooned, picking up her hand to plant a kiss on the back of her palm. "You should wear that more often." His accompanying smirk was less than innocent, and she yanked her hand back with a bemused expression; something about this situation just seemed wrong. "What can I say? I've developed a bit of an Oedipal Complex."

The woman shook her head, managing a soft laugh despite the demon's inappropriate conduct. He always could make her smile, even after all this time it seemed.

"It's nice to see you smile again…" His words were sincere and his face strangely thoughtful, so much so that she was forced to smack his arm to settle herself.

"I smile all the time!" But her words rang hollow, even in her own ears, and he shot her an "oh really?" sort of glance that she didn't appreciate. "Ga-"

"I can count on one hand the times I've seen you do it. You can't lie to me darlin'." His interruption was calm, managing to speak over her without even raising his voice; it was infuriating. She also didn't exactly appreciate being accused of lying, but she knew it was the truth and thus pointless to argue with him.

"I just don't have many things to smile about these days, can you blame me? The whole world is going to Hell… literally…"

"None of which is your fault."

"Isn't it though? I'm the catalyst, the cause behind it all, and even now I sit back and do nothing." While it was true that she had a good reason, it didn't make it any easier to stomach. A mother couldn't intervene every time her child stumbled or he'd never learn to walk, Vicki knew this, and still she hated herself for it. "I'm surprised you don't all hate me…"

Crowley squeezed her shoulder encouragingly and she looked up into his smirking face, knowing she wouldn't like his reply even before it left his snotty lips.

"I did. For a long time." Her exasperated expression made him laugh, and he gave her another squeeze to settle her before he continued. "I think we all did, but that's all just part of growing up innit?" What was he implying? That this was all some act of teenage rebellion? She shrugged off his hand and put some distance between them, wrapping her arms around herself.

"You're terrible at this." But in all honesty she didn't think that anything he said could make her feel any better anyways. She was thoroughly immersed in feeling sorry for herself with no end in sight; she was quite skilled at moping about. "But if you were aiming to make me feel even worse, congratulations, you succeeded." Her whole body stiffened as he slipped his arms around her waist, shooting a glare over her shoulder; if looks could kill…

"Alright, alright, I'll keep my hands to myself… Can't blame me for trying though, can ya?" True to his word he released her, looking over her to watch the trench coated figure still kneeling in the middle of the street. "If it helps, I don't think that nutter over there hates you."

She followed his gaze and sighed heavily as her eyes lingered on her rescuer , the same person who was one of the main causes of her discord. He had passed the test! _And yet why do I still feel so unsettled?_

"I feel his pain as surely as if it were my own, trust me, he hates me." He was so lonely, so hopeless; how did he manage to contain it so well? He managed to continue, as if the world weren't falling down around his shoulders, and she couldn't help to wonder where his unending faith came from.

"Nah, he might not be your biggest fan at the moment, but you don't spend that much time worrying about someone you hate." Perhaps Crowley had a point, but still… "And don't you keep frettin' over the sorry state of the world, our boy here has got that covered." Vicki whipped around to reply, shock evident on her smooth features.

"How can you be so certain? He isn't even certain himself!" The lad was indecisive, insecure, and though Vicki knew her actions were for the best, even she wasn't so sure about him anymore. "He doesn't even know what he's doing, for all you know we could be doomed…" Crowley shook his head in clear disappointment, clucking his tongue and earning a glare for his trouble.

"Where's your faith?" Vicki laughed aloud at that, covering her mouth with her hand to stem the tide of her giggles.

"You're lecturing _me_ on faith? The irony is almost too much to bear!"

"You know what I mean." The demon scolded with a furrowing of his brows, the expression immediately putting an end to the snickering. "You trust him, right?"

"Yes!"

"Love him?"

"Of course!"

"Then you need to believe in him." He stated as if it were so simple, to put her faith in such a young tormented thing. "Because someone sure as hell has to." She knew then, that she would have faith in Castiel because he had faith in her, because he needed someone to return the favor for once.

"You shame me…" How on Earth could she have even been considering abandoning him when he needed her most? He would succeed! She knew that he would. _He has to…_

"Don't be so hard on yourself! You're good lookin' too!" His lazy smirk told her that all was well between them, and she found herself returning the gesture. Her hand was caught up in his, and she squeezed it gratefully, appreciative of the support he offered her.

"What would I have done without you?" Her head fell against his shoulder as Castiel disappeared from the middle of the street, having apparently spent enough time in contemplation.

"Oh you would have died, surely!" A soft chuckle was allowed before his voice became serious again, turning the conversation back to more important topics. "Are you ever going to tell him?" He felt her tense up, but she didn't pull away from him this time, always a good sign.

"I don't know… maybe? Is now really the time to be talking about this?" She would reveal herself when she was ready, and what did it matter at the moment?

"I know you're reluctant-" Reluctant wasn't quite a strong enough word for it… "But just think about it, I know he'd be happy to see you." She doubted that. But maybe, maybe after all the chaos was over and done with… maybe she could bear to face him after all that. She would make no promises to that effect however. "Anyways, it's time for me to blow this popsicle stand. I'll catch you later, right?"

She nodded and pulled her hand back so she could cup his cheek fondly, brushing her lips across the bit of stubble that rested there.

"Thank you for everything Gabriel, really." The demon Crowley faded away as she stepped back and dropped her hand, revealing features that she could have recognized with her eyes closed. That smug little face grinning from ear to ear, it was contagious, and she found herself smiling.

"No problemo! See you around mama-papa, don't be a stranger now!" With a pop he was gone, and Vicki Ashworth's lips continued to grin long after his presence had faded.

_Keep believing in me Castiel, and I'll keep believing in you…_ And with that, the girl that was not quite Victoria Ashworth was gone, prepared to sit back and watch her son prove himself to her, the Winchester's, the world, and _himself_.

_I have faith._


End file.
